Nick Storring Announces Chamber Music-Inspired 'Gardens'

Toronto multi-instrumentalist Nick Storring is known for his use of electronics and improvised samples, but he took a different approach for his sophomore solo album. You'll be able to hear that change-up for yourself when Gardens arrives October 28 through Scissor Tail Editions.

The album is described in a press release as an "informal tribute" to orchestral psychedelic soul composer Charles Stepney. It uses almost no electronic processing, instead drawing on chamber music in its densely multi-tracked arrangements. Storring — who is a member of Bespoken and Picastro — played over 60 instruments himself.

Storring noted that the album features standard orchestral instruments, in addition to "electric bass, electric piano, steel pan, found junk, autoharps played with ebows and roto toms played with vibrators."

The album was made possible by the Canadian Music Centre's Toronto Emerging Composer Award, which Storring won in 2011. He has two more solo albums due out this year, one on Orange Milk and the other on Notice Recordings. He's also working on a commissioned piece for pianist Eve Egoyan that's expected to debut next year.

Gardens is due out digitally and in a limited CD run of 200. It's available to pre-order on Bandcamp, and the tracks "(Come to My) Thicket" and "Inside Every Man Lives the Seed of a Flower" can be streamed at the bottom of this page, below the tracklist.

Storring will be launching the album with a live event at Toronto's Garrison on October 24, when he'll open for Ben Frost. You can learn more about the event here.